Freeware favorites Songbird and the GIMP updated in the waning days of 2009, offering mostly-minor changes that fans of those programs will appreciate.

Songbird updated to version 1.4.3 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The new version can rip music from audio CDs directly into the main Songbird library and introduces a new default feather, called Purple Rain. Feathers are Songbird-speak for skins or themes. Although an add-on is still required, the latest version also supports several Mass Storage Class portable device syncing.

Originally, the update was to v1.4.1, but two late "feather"-related bugs forced the subsequent version bumps. In a blog post, Songbird assures users that 1.4.3 is safe and stable to use. Songbird still lacks full Windows 7 support, which, along with video playback support, isn't expected until version 1.5.

The GIMP version 2.6.8 for Windows, Mac, and Linux offers no new features, instead fixing several performance and functionality bugs. Although this release is fairly minor, the upcoming version 2.8.0 is expected to contain interface and feature changes. The full changelog for version 2.6.8 can be read here.

Mozilla is building a number of features into the upcoming Firefox 3.7 browser--but the organization now has begun stewing over whether to introduce some of them in a significant update, as planned, or to rewrite some sooner for a variation of the current browser.

Programmer Benjamin Smedberg proposed the retrofit approach with a version called Lorentz on a Mozilla mailing list in late December. In the resulting discussion, developers and observers weighed the tactical advantages to each approach and wondered whether the quickening pace of Firefox development is ill-suited to browser users among businesses.

Firefox is based on a browser engine project called Gecko. The nearly complete (but somewhat tardy) Firefox 3.6 is built on Gecko 1.9.2, and Firefox 3.7 is set to use Gecko 1.9.3. The question afoot is whether to "backport" significant Gecko 1.9.3 features to 1.9.2 and release the new Lorentz version of Firefox based on it.

"With the [Lorentz] project branch, I believe we could go to beta in the middle of January and release in late March/early April," Smedberg said. In contrast, "doing a release from Mozilla-Central/1.9.3 presents a lot of schedule risk without matching reward."

One design change in question is the implementation of out-of-process plug-ins, which would move plug-ins such as Adobe Systems' Flash to a separate computing process--and a project in which Smedberg is involved. The work, the first phase of a Mozilla project called Electrolysis, is expected to improve stability; many browser crashes are the result of problems with Flash programs. Another feature he'd like is a less disruptive browser update process--a particularly relevant technology, given Mozilla's attempt to move to a more frequent release cycle.

Chris Blizzard, who runs Mozilla's developer relations, sounded supportive of the Lorentz plan in a mailing-list message. He added some features he'd like to implemented sooner rather than later, including faster Direct2D-based graphics for Windows machines, CSS transitions that can add pizazz to some graphic elements, and Web Sockets for communication between a browser and a server.

But, he added, delay is a risk of new features. "We need to make sure this train doesn't get too big, though, or it will stretch out into a pretty long release," Blizzard said. Indeed, that's what happened with Firefox 3.5, which began as a quick 3.1 update but arrived months later, as more features were added.

Added L. David Baron, "I have bad feelings about this plan, based on the last time we did this: Firefox 2.0 sucked resources away from the trunk [the development of new version of Gecko] and allowed it to become extremely unstable, and it look a long time to get things back together for Firefox 3."

Eventually, the Mozilla mailing-list discussion turned to how well corporate users are able to deal with a fast development cycle.

"The nature of the Web doesn't really lend itself to long-lived stable browser branches, IMHO," programmer Robert O'Callahan said. "A lot of the security issues we discover in the Web itself require proactive security measures such as UI [user interface] and architectural changes that one normally wouldn't apply to a 'stable branch.'"

John J. Barton, an IBM programmer involved with the Firebug extension to Firefox to aid Web developers, made the case for relatively rapid changes.

"IBM and our customers are all moving to faster development cycles," Barton wrote. "That's why I urge [the] Firefox team to continue to lead in that direction."

Originally posted at Deep Tech

Although its name suggests perhaps even grander capabilities, Windows enthusiasts are excited over the discovery of a hidden "GodMode" feature that lets users access all of the operating system's control panels from within a single folder.

By creating a new folder in Windows 7 and renaming it with a certain text string at the end, users are able to have a single place to do everything from changing the look of the mouse pointer to making a new hard-drive partition.

The trick is also said to work in Windows Vista, although some are warning that although it works fine in 32-bit versions of Vista, it can cause 64-bit versions of that operating system to crash.

To enter "GodMode," one need only create a new folder and then rename the folder to the following:

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Once that is done, the folder's icon will change to resemble a control panel and will contain dozens of control options. I'm not sure it's my idea of playing God, but it is a handy way to get to all kinds of controls.

I've asked Microsoft for more details on the feature and how it came to be. But so far, Redmond is silent on the topic.

Originally posted at Beyond Binary

If you've been wanting to test-drive an iPhone navigation app but didn't want to invest $34.99 on CoPilot Live, $49.99 on TomTom U.S.A., or $59.99 MobileNavigator, here's good news: Now you can get Gokivo GPS Navigator for just 99 cents (iTunes link).

Just to clarify, that 99 cents buys you 30 days' worth of navigation (complete with real-time traffic). After that, Gokivo will cost you $4.99 per month or $39.99 if you pay annually (a considerable savings).

It will cost you more over the long haul than a flat-rate app like CoPilot or MobileNavigator, but Gokivo might be a more attractive option for infrequent drivers--since there's no contract, no commitment.

If you're like me and only occasionally need turn-by-turn navigation assistance, you can, literally, pay as you go. Gokivo now supports in-app transactions, so if you're leaving for a road trip or happen to get lost somewhere, just tap out $4.99 and presto: You've got another month of GPS.

If you want to learn about the app's navigation acumen, read Dong Ngo's recent comparison of Gokivo and MapQuest (another subscription-based solution).

But I think with an entry point of just 99 cents and the option of paying five bucks whenever you want 30 days of traffic-enhanced navigation, Gokivo is hard to beat.

What's your favorite GPS app? Do you prefer the flat-rate offerings or a subscription option like this one? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

Seesmic, which makes Twitter and Facebook access apps, is buying Ping.fm, a service for updating multiple social services at the same time. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed. Ping co-founders Adam Duffy and Sean McCullough are joining Seesmic and will begin work on integrating their service into the Seesmic clients, said Seesmic CEO Loic Le Meur.

I covered the complexity and confusion of dealing with multiple personal networks in September 2008. A year and a bit later, there's been some consolidation of the players, but the game is still confusing: Pownce and Kwippy are gone, for example, and Friendfeed has been absorbed by Facebook. But many people still use multiple social networks and messaging systems, and for the most part, they need different applications to access them all. With Ping, you can post to--but not read from--Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, Flicker, and many other networks. The service is accessible from the Ping.fm Web site, from various third-party mobile and desktop clients, as well as from instant messaging services and e-mail. It's a very capable switching station for personal network updates.

Ping.fm has flexibility to let you send certain updates to certain services. For example, you can denote one update as personal and have it posted on Facebook and Twitter, and the next you can call work-related and send only to LinkedIn. As I said, though, Ping.fm doesn't let you read updates from your networks. You'll want a more full-featured social client for that. Seesmic (or its competitor Tweetdeck) would be good place to start, but they're limited to reading from just a few services each at the moment. Seesmic currently reads Twitter and Facebook updates, but it will likely get support for more services in future versions.

A quick look at stats says that Ping.fm is growing, and certainly the multi-network skills that Seesmic is acquiring fit into that company's mission. But personally, while I used to be a big user of Ping.fm, I haven't used it in months and wonder if its time may be past. I no longer feel the need to update several networks at once, as nearly everyone in my personal and professional online worlds has migrated to only two services--Twitter and Facebook, respectively (which I have connected together without Ping.fm), with a few holdouts in LinkedIn. The problem I wrote about in 2008 still exists, technically, but socially I don't believe it is that big a problem. Perhaps the Ping.fm team can find new challenges to address at Seesmic.

Originally posted at Rafe's Radar

In its 15th month of public existence, Google's Chrome browser surpassed Safari for share of worldwide usage in December.

Chrome jumped from 3.9 percent to 4.6 percent of usage, according to statistics that analytics firm Net Applications publishes based on the 160 million monthly visitors to the network of Web sites using its services. Safari increased from 4.4 percent to 4.5 percent.

Chrome's jump came as Google released the first beta version of its browser for Mac OS X and Linux computers. Previously only a developer-preview version was available.

As of last month, Google had been scheduled to graduate the Chrome 4.0 beta version to "stable" on January 12, but mention of that release date has now been removed from the Chromium development calendar. One possible hitch: the Mac beta version and the present Mac developer-preview version don't yet support one key feature of the newer 4.0 incarnation of Chrome: extensions. That means the feature, which lets people customize what the browser can do to some extent, has yet to receive widespread testing on Mac OS X machines.

Also according to Net Applications' statistics, Microsoft's Internet Explorer continued its steady slide, dropping from 63.6 percent to 62.7 percent usage. Most of IE's share loss has been picked up by No. 2 Firefox, but that open-source browser slipped from 24.7 percent to 24.6 percent from November to December.

Better news for Microsoft, and for Web developers who loathe supporting the IE 6 browser first released in 2001: IE 8 has almost edged the older browser aside as the top browser version in use.

IE 8 rose in usage from 19.3 percent to 20.9 percent from November to December, while IE 6 dropped from 22.1 percent to 21 percent.

After crushing Netscape in the first browser wars of the 1990s, Microsoft grew complacent. But the arrival of Firefox and growing usage of other browsers has re-energized the Internet Explorer team.

Originally posted at Deep Tech

After the shreds of gleefully torn gift wrap from the holiday season have settled, many of you find yourselves the proud owners of new computers, laptops, or smartphones. What are the best apps for optimizing your prized device? We've got just the thing for you.

Our revised Windows Starter Kit showcases free apps you should consider when building up your computer's software repertoire--like browser options, compression software, and image editors. This Utilities Starter Kit features no-cost software for keeping your computer in tip-top shape. As for making sure your box stays malware-free, check out these top picks from our Security Starter Kit, including free standalone antivirus apps and inclusive security suites.

If your tech toy of 2010 is an Android phone like the Motorola Droid or HTC Droid Eris, start discovering software essentials in the Android Starter Kit. The same goes for free and premium apps for your new BlackBerry and iPhone. For gamers, we've got a list of 17 favorite iPhone games hand-picked from the App Store's scads of titles. Keep in mind that these Starter Kits aren't exhaustive lists of every cool app out there, but they are a healthy jumping-off point for getting acquainted with all you can do from your new device. Happy New Year!

The release of Windows 7 has had a number of Boot Camp users wondering about official support from Apple. Installing Windows 7 over Vista will give numerous advantages, even if for nothing more than to increase the stability of the operating system; however, because Apple has not officially supported Windows, our recommendation so far has been to hold off on using it under Boot Camp, and run it in a virtual machine instead.

While a number of people have been successfully using both the beta and official Windows 7 releases on their Macs in the Boot Camp environment, the lack of official support from Apple may result in odd and unexpected behavior. Most people who've noticed problems have found the multi-touch mouse drivers to not behave properly, but others have found the system to boot and run slowly, and in some cases refuse to boot back to OS X (1, 2). In October, Apple released a knowledgebase document claiming that Windows 7 would supported in Mac OS X Snow Leopard before the end of 2009; however, to date there has been no mention of an update from Apple (though to be fair, from the time of this posting they have about 16 hours left).

According to AppleInsider, the official Windows 7 support updates are still undergoing tests at Apple, and will be released next year. Clearly, Windows 7 support on Apple hardware is not a priority of Apple's, but given Apple's initial claim of an update before the end of this year, it is likely they are finishing up the drivers and will have them out sooner rather than later.

While Boot Camp is a great option for maximizing performance when running Windows, it may not necessarily be the best. The main drawbacks for it are:

• You cannot run your Mac applications simultaneously

• You cannot safely resize the Mac or Windows partitions

• You cannot easily transfer files between the two partitions (without third-party support)

These problems can easily be overcome by running a virtualization program such as VMWare Fusion, Parallels Desktop, or the free VirtualBox from Sun. These programs allow you to easily integrate Windows into your Mac environment, manage the Windows disk size by creating dynamically expanding hard disks, and use your same documents in both Windows and OS X (or at least easily copy them between the two environments).

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Originally posted at MacFixIt